***Some collaborations bring together artists. Others bring together entirely different worlds. There is Wonder Here, the forthcoming collaborative album from legendary pedal steel guitarist BJ Cole and Secondson brings together two instruments that have never before been recorded in this context, the expressive, fluid voice of pedal steel and the otherworldly resonance of the Cristal Baschet.
For more than five decades, BJ Cole has been one of the most influential and adventurous pedal steel players in modern music. While many listeners know his playing from Elton John's "Tiny Dancer," Cole's lasting legacy lies in his role as a pioneer who helped liberate the pedal steel from its traditional country music context. Through collaborations with artists including Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Björk, John Cale, R.E.M., The Orb, and Joan Armatrading, he has demonstrated the instrument's possibilities in ambient, experimental, electronic, and art- pop settings.
Secondson is one of a small number of musicians working extensively with the Cristal Baschet, a rare acoustic instrument invented in 1952 by French brothers Bernard and François Baschet. Played by rubbing chromatically tuned glass rods with wet fingertips, the Cristal Baschet produces an ethereal, hauntingly cinematic sound that Secondson describes as "an acoustic synthesizer." It can move from delicate, voice-like tones to powerful self- oscillating resonances.
The album began as a long-distance exchange. Secondson composed and recorded a series of pieces specifically for the project, sending them to Cole, who responded by layering pedal steel performances over the material. The two eventually came together in the studio, where improvised performances became an essential part of the album's final form.
The contrasting nature of the instruments shaped the recording process. Cole's pedal steel was recorded in a dense, reflection-free room, preserving its clarity and immediacy. The Cristal Baschet was recorded in bright, reflective spaces that emphasized its natural resonance. Secondson further expanded its sound using accelerometers, vintage amplifiers, rotating speakers, a Baschet Voice Leaf, and a Metallik Resonator.
"There were no limits on what we felt the pedal steel could do," says Secondson. "BJ has always been very open minded toward experimentation in his playing. At the same time, he preferred a pure pedal steel sound with very little between the instrument and the listener. Most of the experimental recording techniques were reserved for the Cristal Baschet." Despite its experimental foundations, There is Wonder Here is also a remarkably song- oriented album. Secondson built the Cristal Baschet parts around simple structures, repeating motifs, and recurring harmonic movements, creating a foundation for Cole's pedal steel to wander, respond, and converse. The contrast between the Cristal's fixed, subdued tones and the pedal steel's bright, fluid expressiveness becomes one of the album's defining qualities.
Among the album's highlights is "If Black Was a Colour," the first composition Secondson sent to Cole when proposing the collaboration. Written in memory of a beloved black cat, the piece immediately revealed the chemistry between the two musicians. "Mòr Du" expands the album's palette with string quartet and Orchestron arrangements, offering a glimpse at possible future directions.
The album was recorded with longtime engineer Thomas V. Westgard, whose microphone selection and placement helped define the contrasting acoustic environments of the two instruments. Mixing and mastering were handled by acclaimed guitarist, composer, and producer Chuck Johnson.
For Secondson, the album marks a return to songwriting after years spent exploring pure sound, resonance, and texture. "I had decided a while ago to strip songs away from my music, to explore what is left without formulaic structures of chords and melodies," Secondson explains. "There is Wonder Here contains many of those same explorations of tone and resonance, but now there are songs again. Having BJ respond to and play over those foundations made me hear possibilities I never could have imagined on my own."
The result is a genuinely unique listening experience, one that draws from minimalism, sonic art, ambient music, improvisation, and contemporary composition while belonging entirely to none of them.
As Secondson describes it, "Sonically, it is a gift for the inquisitive listener."
